April 25, 2024
Severfield listed as a Climate Leader in Europe for the fourth year running
Severfield is delighted to be listed, once again, on the leaderboard for Europe's Climate Leaders for 2024.
SustainabilityAlongside becoming a carbon neutral business, we are working hard to reduce our direct emissions through various initiatives including shifting to more energy-efficient technologies, lean manufacturing techniques and by switching to green electricity. However, right now, there is no way for us to conduct our business without creating some emissions. While we work to reduce these emissions, it is also important for us to mitigate our climate impact now, and we are doing this by offsetting the emissions in a way that supports communities around the world.
Offsetting is the mechanism through which organisations can take responsibility for carbon emissions
generated by their business activities, that are difficult or impossible to avoid. Offsetting tackles climate change by:
We work with our expert partner ClimateCare, to choose robust, high-quality projects that deliver emission
reductions alongside sustainable development impacts that mirror our sustainability strategy and core values. All the projects we support consult with local stakeholders before the project is implemented and get feedback from local communities about how the project is impacting them on an ongoing basis. In the great majority of projects, local communities are instrumental in running the project.
Projects which are benefitting from our carbon offsetting programme include solar power projects in India (chosen because of our existing manufacturing footprint in India), the manufacture of efficient cookstoves in Ghana (chosen because of the air quality issues in Ghana), and the regeneration of degraded lands in Chile (chosen because of the level of innovation associated with this project).
Each project also supports our recent alignment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This project has brought over 160,000 reliable solar power and solar water heating systems to customers
throughout the country. It also reduces around 52,000 tonnes of CO2e per year by replacing the use of kerosene or dirty grid electricity. Household electricity bills are reduced by more than 50% when solar energy
is used for water heating. Businesses can operate for longer and more consistently. Improving productivity and lighting at home means greater opportunity for children to study.
An innovative partnership between biotech company Mikro-Tek and the Chilean forestry department is changing this. Mycorrhizae are fungi that work symbiotically with trees. The fungi grow on the trees’ roots, encouraging the formation of larger, healthier root systems, enabling plants to absorb additional nutrients and moisture from the soil. In exchange the host trees provide the fungi with energy in the form of carbohydrates from photosynthesis.
Local communities have established nurseries where saplings are inoculated with the fungi to ensure its strong
presence when the trees are planted. When planted, these saplings (now covering over 6,000 hectares) stabilise soil, reduce flooding and erosion risk, and provide an income for the landowners when they are harvested. This takes place 10-20 years after planting – at which point they are replaced with new saplings and the cycle continues.
This project introduces the Gyapa to families in Ghana. An efficient cookstove, the Gyapa cooks food more quickly, requires 46% less fuel and is less smoky, meaning it not only cuts carbon emissions, but reduces exposure to toxic fumes. Cutting fuel requirements saves families as much as $100 dollars annually, at the same time protecting Ghana’s dwindling forests.
A key outcome from this project is job creation. The stoves are made locally; the liners by a small group of accredited local ceramicists who have received specialist training and the metal claddings by a further
group of accredited manufacturers. The project provides training and quality control services and distributes the stoves through a wide network of retailers.
If you have any suggestions, or questions about our sustainability strategy please get in touch with Sara Hallidaysara.halliday@severfield.com
April 25, 2024
Severfield is delighted to be listed, once again, on the leaderboard for Europe's Climate Leaders for 2024.
SustainabilityMarch 28, 2024
We are pleased to announce that we have retained our BES 6001 certification, a sustainable sourcing standard, developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).
SustainabilityFebruary 08, 2024
Severfield is one of the first ten companies in the UK construction and engineering sector to have all three of our targets fully verified by the SBTi.
Sustainability